Back-End Load

Back-end load - A back-end load is a fee such as a sales charge or a commission, which investors pay when selling their mutual funds within a certain number of years, which is usually 5 or 10 years. The fee will be a percentage of the value that is being sold. The back-end load will be the highest the first year and continually decreases until the period expires and the fee is no longer charged. Back-end loads accompany Class B shares. Class A shares have front-end loads and Class C shares are said to be level loads neither carrying a front-end load or a back-end load but will have high operating expenses. A back-end load is also called a load, or a contingent deferred sales charge.